Review: Moonlight Kiss by LuAnn McLane

Moonlight Kiss by LuAnn McLane
Series: Cricket Creek, Book 5
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
Genre: Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 9780451415585
Release Date: November 5, 2013
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N

After not one, but two very public broken engagements, Addison Monroe is ready to take a break from men, weddings, and the paparazzi. In order to do that, Addison escapes the Southern California spotlight to rest and relax in Cricket Creek. Yet while she might be able to avoid the media in this small Kentucky town, fate has a funny sense of humor when it comes to the other two things on Addison’s “avoid” list. It’s not long after she arrives in Cricket Creek that Addison finds herself opening a bridal boutique on Wedding Row, a job that throws her directly in the path of one sexy-as-sin farmer.

Investment consultant Reid Greenfield left Lexington to temporarily help out on his family’s farm. A farm that may just be turning into a wedding reception venue if his sister, Sara, has her way. Reid’s not about to let his sister lose everything she’s worked for on a foolish venture, and he hopes that Addison, as both a wedding consultant and the daughter of a famous financial guru, will help Sara see the light. Only Addison thinks Sara’s idea is brilliant. For a man like Reid – one who wants to avoid weddings – being at the eye of a wedding storm has a strange effect. Or maybe it’s just Addison who is turning his world upside down. Will a man who doesn’t like taking risks take the biggest leap there is and give his heart to a woman who has been burned by love more than once?

LuAnn McLane will charm your socks off with this fresh and fun tale! Moonlight Kiss is a sweet, sprightly story with charm to spare. Like Addison, I fell in love with Cricket Creek from the first moment. There’s a welcoming vibe to the town that just radiates off the page. From Addison to Reid to their loved ones, there’s not one person in Cricket Creek I wouldn’t love to get to know.

Endearing small towns aside, Moonlight Kiss features not one, but two romances that will leave you sighing. The primary love story is, of course, between Reid and Addison. These two are both understandably wary of deeper commitments, yet both learn that you can’t control emotion, no matter how hard you try. Ms. McLane made these two fit one another incredibly well without their pairing ever falling into “cardboard perfect” territory. The couple that almost steals the show from Addison and Reid are Maggie and Richard. Richard, the rock star who was almost Addison’s father-in-law, comes to Cricket Creek to try and make some of his son’s mistakes right. Instead he winds up finding love with Maggie, a single mother who is stepping out into the dating world now that her son is grown. I had a huge grin on my face whenever these two were together. Theirs was a beautifully understated romance that melted my heart more than once.

Moonlight Kiss is one of those comfort reads that is perfect for making you smile when you need it most. The only issue I had with the book was Addison’s seemingly endless streak of good luck and instant success in her professional life – it seemed a bit too unrealistic, and thus drew me out of the story. Even with that minor niggle, I adored Moonlight Kiss and I can’t wait to read more Cricket Creek stories!